English word origin

Etymology of glob

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

verb

To stick in globs or lumps.

noun

A round, shapeless or amorphous lump, as of a semisolid substance. · A millimeter-sized colour module found beyond the visual area V2 in the brain's parvocellular pathway.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Possibly a blend of blob + gob, or a clipping of globule. An element of sound symbolism is clearly involved: compare such phonetically and semantically similar words as glop, gop, lob, blob, lump, clump and clod. (Still, globe, clump and clod may be related via the Proto-Indo-European root *gel-; compare clew.) In the biological sense, proposed by Bevil R. Conway and Doris Y. Tsao, by analogy with the cytochrome-oxidase "blobs" of V1, an earlier stage in the hierarchical elaboration of colour.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Blend componentbloben
Blend componentgoben

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "name": "blend",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "blob",
        "3": "gob",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "blend of blob + gob"
    },
    {
      "name": "clipping",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "globule",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "clipping of globule"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "blob",
      "blob#English"
    ],
    [
      "gob",
      "gob#English"
    ],
    [
      "globule",
      "globule#English"
    ],
    [
      "sound symbolism",
      "sound symbolism#English"
    ],
    [
      "glop",
      "glop#English"
    ],
    [
      "gop",
      "gop#English"
    ],
    [
      "lob",
      "lob#English"
    ],
    [
      "blob",
      "blob#English"
    ],
    [
      "lump",
      "lump#English"
    ],
    [
      "clump",
      "clump#English"
    ],
    [
      "clod",
      "clod#English"
    ],
    [
      "globe",
      "globe#English"
    ],
    [
      "*gel-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/gel-"
    ],
    [
      "clew",
      "clew#English"
    ],
    [
      "blob",
      "blob"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To stick in globs or lumps."
      ],
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

verb

To carry out pattern matching using a glob.

noun

A limited pattern matching technique using wildcards, less powerful than a regular expression; such a pattern.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Originates from the early (c. 1970) Unix command glob; clipping of global.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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        "nocap": "1"
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    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Unix",
      "Unix"
    ],
    [
      "global",
      "global#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
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        "To carry out pattern matching using a glob."
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for glob →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-Z2xvYg